Any Experts on Cragar Wheels?

[Warren Webb]

I have a set of Keyston KLassics on my 93 Ranger that are unilug. I bought those because I can put them on any of my Studes if I ever want to. They ride smooth with no vibration at all. Bought them used & had to buy the washers separatly but they work well. Strange that some would refuse to balance them-all the balancers I've seen require the removal of the center cap & none use the lug area for the balance machine.

[Flashback]

Warren aren't your Studes and the ranger ths same 4 1/2 lug pattern anyway?

[PackardV8]

Strange that some would refuse to balance them-all the balancers I've seen require the removal of the center cap & none use the lug area for the balance machine.

There were three major problems with spin-balancing the Uni-Lug Cragars. First, as someone mentioned earlier, the raised center section where the center cap mounts was so delicate, the cone which centered the wheel on the machine spindle couldn't be tightened properly or it would crack the casting. The cast center wasn't a precision piece. Sometimes the hole in the center was off center. Then, the combination of the steel rim, the cast center and the Uni-Lug mounting tolerances would sometimes stack to produce a wheel that was balanced on the machine, but not centered properly when mounted on the car. It felt unbalanced, but sometimes was out of round.

Because of so many customer complaints, Goodyear sent out a service letter telling their factory Service Centers to tell customers the balance was not guaranteed.

jack vines

[Warren Webb]

Warren aren't your Studes and the ranger ths same 4 1/2 lug pattern anyway?

Yes they are. Thats one of the reasons I have those wheels. I only wish they fit my 69 Barracuda too but for some weird reason Chrysler didnt use that bolt pattern (4&1/2")on that body car until the early 70's.

[ozarkman]

I had a set of Cragar SS wheels with Uni-Lug hubs on a Dodge Charger and used them on my Cuda for a while. I had no problems IF I put them on. The kids at the tire stores had no clue as to centering the wheel.
When I had them mounted with a new set of radials, the guy who delivered my car told me to check my steering wheel because it was loose. I thought that was strange because when I drove the car to work that morning it was fine.
On the way home I discovered that the car bounced severely and when I got home and tried to remove the tires the lugs were on so tight that I had to use a "cheater" bar over my wrench and stand on it to remove the lugs nuts. After I carefully rotated the off-set washers to center the wheels they ran fine.
I called the tire store and complained and got a very lame excuse. I never went back and told all of my friends to avoid the place.

I think you nailed it! I had them on my old Rustang...never had a problem as long as Supershops(long since out of business) did my mounting and balancing. I still have the 15x7's I had on the rear...I wonder if those'll fit my Lark?